28 February 2013
China claims most cyber-attacks on its military websites have US origin
Beijing says defence ministry and another site subjected to 1.7m attacks last year, two-thirds of which came from within America
Reuters in Berlin
The Guardian

China denies allegations made earlier this month that a
Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks mostly
targeting the US. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

China denies allegations made earlier this month that a Chinese military
unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the
US. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Two Chinese military websites were subject to about 144,000
hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds of which came from
the US,
China's defence ministry has said.

Earlier this month a US computer
security company said a
Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks
mostly targeting America, triggering a war of words between Washington and
Beijing. China denied the allegations and said it was the victim.

Beijing has now provided some details for the first time of the alleged
attacks from the US. "The defence ministry and China military online websites
have faced a serious threat from hacking attacks since they were established,
and the number of hacks has risen steadily in recent years," said a ministry
spokesman, Geng Yansheng, on Thursday.

"According to the IP addresses, the websites were, in 2012, hacked on
average from overseas 144,000 times a month, of which attacks from the US
accounted for 62.9%."

The comments were made at a monthly news conference, which foreign
reporters are not allowed to attend, and posted on the ministry's website.

Geng said he had noted reports that the US planned to expand its
cyberwarfare capability but that they were unhelpful to increasing
international co-operation towards fighting hacking.

"We hope that the US side can explain and clarify this," he added.

The Unit 61398 building.
Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

The US security company, Mandiant, identified the Shanghai-based Unit 61398
of the Chinese army as the most likely culprits behind the hacking targeting
America. Mandiant said it believed the unit had carried out "sustained"
attacks on a wide range of industries.

The hacking dispute adds to diplomatic tension between China and the US,
already strained by Chinese suspicion about Washington's motives in Asia and
arguments over issues from trade to human rights.